In the context of what's popular in music at the turn of the century, the title of
Duster's second full-length,
Contemporary Movement, reveals this San Jose band's wry sense of their place in pop/rock's ecosystem. Their often sparse and laconic delivery (especially on tracks like "Auto-mobile") guarantees
Duster a place outside contemporary music's mainstream. But in a more perfect world there would be at least three radio hits from this, their most accessible release to date. The opening track, "Get the Dutch," begins with an echoy synth lullaby that recalls the spacey sound of Stratosphere (
Duster's debut full-length) ,an album that sounded as if it was composed by someone orbiting the earth in the broken down Mir Space Station with no hope of getting home. From there, the song abruptly shifts into
Duster at its most excited, with a drum crash from Jason Albertini and resonating guitar chords that hang in the air long enough to speak volumes. Vocals play a more prominent role on
Contemporary Movement following the course staked out on 1999's
1975 EP, revealing songwriting talent that adds another reason to admire this band. Lyrics like "Escapism creeps into our recipes" and "...we make friends just to have more projects/we make friends just to turn them into enemies" from "Get the Dutch" tell true stories that we might not always be comfortable recognizing. Tracks ("Travelogue," "Cooking," and "Unrecovery") also would find their way into heavy rotation on the mythical radio station that lives somewhere outside the time and space in which
Duster exists. ~ Sean Hurley